瑞士奇迹：金钱

在有关瑞士身份的八部分系列的最后一篇中，我们轻松地探讨了瑞士人对金钱的态度。

Switzerland’s five-centime coin is not exactly a crowd-pleaser. But despite being practically useless, more of them have been minted over the past decade than any other Swiss coin.

瑞士的五生丁硬币并不讨人喜欢。尽管实际上毫无用处，但过去十年中铸造的瑞士硬币比任何其他瑞士硬币都多。

The Swiss love money, or so the saying goes. The second part of this cliché is up for debate, but the first seems to correspond to reality. Just look at how excited many people get about the latest series of banknotes and how the website of the national mint, Swissmint, illustrates each series with anecdotes and quirky facts about its production.

俗话说，瑞士人爱钱。这个陈词滥调的第二部分有待争论，但第一部分似乎符合现实。只要看看许多人对最新系列纸币感到多么兴奋，以及国家造币厂 Swissmint 的网站如何用有关其生产的轶事和离奇事实来说明每个系列就可以了。

However, it has to be said that not every coin and not every banknote enjoys the same affection or notoriety. One of the “stars” of Swiss numismatics is without doubt the five-franc coin, which features the face of a shepherd (no, it’s not William Tell) with the smug expression of someone who knows his value. The “fiver” is also almost exaggeratedly large and wouldn’t look out of place in a pirate’s coffers along with gold doubloons; more than a few can cause problems for even the most capacious wallet.

然而，必须指出的是，并非每种硬币和纸币都享有同样的喜爱或恶名。瑞士钱币学的“明星”之一无疑是五法郎硬币，它的头像是牧羊人（不，不是威廉泰尔），脸上带着自鸣得意的表情，就像一个知道自己价值的人。 “五块钱”的尺寸也几乎被夸大了，与金达布隆放在海盗的金库里并不会显得格格不入。即使是最充裕的钱包，超过几个也会带来问题。

And then there’s the mystic aura surrounding the 1,000-franc note, the highest-value note in the world. Few are ever seen, but they represent as much as 57% of the value of all Swiss banknotes in circulation. Some say its existence facilitates money laundering (a briefcase stuffed with 1,000-franc notes contains as much money as about five briefcases with 200-euro notes), but attempts to abolish it have come to nothing.

此外，世界上面值最高的 1,000 法郎纸币也散发着神秘的气息。虽然很少有人见过，但它们占所有流通瑞士纸币价值的 57%。有人说它的存在助长了洗钱活动（一个装满 1000 法郎纸币的公文包里的钱相当于五个装有 200 欧元纸币的公文包），但废除它的尝试却没有成功。

Let’s not forget the diminutive half-franc coin. Careful, it’s not the 50-centime/Rappen coin: it is in fact engraved with the inscription “½ Fr”.

我们不要忘记小型的半法郎硬币。小心，这不是 50 生丁/Rappen 硬币：它实际上刻有“½ Fr”字样。

Even the coin that at first glance seems less special, the ten-centime/Rappen coin, gained fame when it entered the Guinness World Records in 2021 as the oldest original coin in circulation. It has had the same minting since 1879 and the earliest examples are still in use.

即使是乍一看似乎不那么特别的硬币，十生丁/拉彭硬币，在 2021 年作为流通中最古老的原始硬币进入吉尼斯世界纪录时也名声大噪。自 1879 年以来一直有相同的铸造，最早的例子仍在使用。

But then there’s the five-centime/Rappen coin. Despite its distinctive gold livery, the coin with the lowest value in Switzerland – it’s worth about a nickel in the US – is most probably also the least popular. The reason, of course, is its impracticality. These coins are not accepted by vending machines and people give you a dirty look if you start counting them out in shops. Children like them for their distinctive colour, but little more.

但还有五生分/拉彭硬币。尽管具有独特的金色外观，但在瑞士价值最低的硬币（在美国大约值五分钱）很可能也是最不受欢迎的。原因当然是它的不切实际。自动售货机不接受这些硬币，如果您开始在商店里数硬币，人们会用肮脏的眼光看您。孩子们喜欢它们独特的颜色，但仅此而已。

Yet there are currently 1.34 billion of them in circulation, 25% more than ten years ago. No other Swiss currency has grown as much in number.

但目前流通量为 13.4 亿枚，比 10 年前增加了 25%。没有其他瑞士货币的数量增长如此之多。

This is a surprising figure, especially in the age of cashless payments, but one that has a logical explanation, according to a recent article by Swiss public radio, SRF.

根据瑞士公共广播电台 SRF 最近的一篇文章，这是一个令人惊讶的数字，尤其是在无现金支付时代，但这个数字有一个合乎逻辑的解释。

Unlike other coins, which easily re-enter the monetary cycle via shops, the sad fate of the five-centime/Rappen coin is to end up gathering dust in a drawer, crammed into the jars of the many child collectors or pocketed by tourists who want an unobtrusive souvenir. In short, they’re out of action.

与其他通过商店轻松重新进入货币循环的硬币不同，五生分/拉彭硬币的悲惨命运是最终在抽屉里积满灰尘，塞进许多儿童收藏家的罐子里，或者被游客装进口袋。想要一个不引人注目的纪念品。简而言之，他们没有行动。

As a result, they have to be put back into circulation. This year Swissmint will produce 26 million of them, at a cost this year of 4.8 centime/Rappen each. Last year, at 6.9 centime/Rappen, it actually cost more to make the coin than it was nominally worth.

因此，它们必须重新投入流通。今年 Swissmint 将生产 2600 万枚，每枚的成本为 4.8 生丁/Rappen。去年，每拉彭币的价格为 6.9 生丁，实际上制造这枚硬币的成本高于其名义价值。

For these reasons, some people would welcome the death of the five-centime/Rappen coin.

出于这些原因，有些人会欢迎五生丁/拉彭硬币的消亡。

On a political level, it was last discussed ten years ago, when a motion to that effect was tabled in the House of Representatives. The motion was supported by the Swiss business association economiesuisse and the Swiss Federal Railways but was opposed by consumer protection associations, which feared a rounding up of prices. In the end, the motion was rejected.

在政治层面上，上一次讨论这个问题是在十年前，当时众议院提出了一项类似的动议。该动议得到了瑞士商业协会economicsuisse和瑞士联邦铁路的支持，但遭到了消费者保护协会的反对，该协会担心价格会被四舍五入。最终，该动议被否决。

However, perhaps it will be discussed again soon, also in light of the fact that today only 36% of daily transactions in Switzerland are still made with cash, compared to 70% in 2017.

然而，也许很快就会再次讨论这个问题，因为目前瑞士只有 36% 的日常交易仍然是用现金进行的，而 2017 年这一比例为 70%。

In any case, given the slowness of Swiss politics – and the fact that there are probably more important problems to think about – the drawers of Swiss households will probably continue to fill up with five-centime/Rappen coins for a long time to come.

无论如何，考虑到瑞士政治的缓慢 — — 以及可能还有更重要的问题需要考虑 — — 瑞士家庭的抽屉可能会在未来很长一段时间内继续装满五生丁/拉彭硬币。